Bittersweet
by volian
Summary: Mello exploits everything.  Oneshot, MelloNear.


BITTERSWEET  
_ fanfic by volly  
death note (c) ohba & obata_

...

Near didn't like sweets. It wasn't a particularly big deal, though. It was just a fact, an unchangeable but otherwise unremarkable physical characteristic of his. Like his height, for example, or his eyes, or his hair color. He never really thought of it as a weakness before. He never had a reason to.

Until Mello saw fit to change that.

He was being very quiet that day, extraordinarily, unbelieveably quiet by Mello standards. Which often included sneering at Near's pajamas or hissing at Near's grades or accidentally-on-purpose knocking over Near's carefully-crafted structures and puzzles. That day, however, found Mello perched just outside the elaborate maze of dominoes Near had set up in the playroom, lying patiently with his chin resting in the palm of his hand, slouched languidly over the arm of the couch like a sleepy cat.

Near had been suspicious of the other's antics at first--Mello hadn't even spoken a word since entering the room, and it'd taken a while for Near, engrossed in his maze as he was, to even notice the other boy's presence. Once he finally did look up from the dominoes and arch an eyebrow in clear inquiry at his spectator, Mello had done nothing, but just shrugged in flippant response, tugging casually on the cuffs of his sleeves, as if he had every right to sit there as Near did. Which was true, Near supposed wryly, but that wasn't the point.

The point was that Mello was acting quite oddly and it was all very suspicious. But Near didn't let the oddity of the situation bother him much, and just continued to stack up the little dominoes in immaculate rows and loops and spirals, letting designs in his mind's eye materialize on the playroom's floor in flawless arcs and circles. He let himself get lost in the complexity of his work of art and with every click of domino against tile even Mello was able to fade from mind, in time.

And then, a snap. Near almost dropped his domino in surprise, startled by the unexpected sound. What was that? A quirk scrutiny around the room revealed the source: Mello had apparently tired of the show, broken out a chocolate bar, and was currently eating it in what Near was certain to be the noisiest and most annoying method possible. Near leveled a deadpan glare at his rival, who blinked and looked momentarily puzzled, as if he had no idea how he'd shattered the younger boy's concentration.

But then a wicked smirk stretched across his face. His gaze flickered from Near's irritated expression to the maze, to the chocolate, before falling back to Near's face. With a cocky laugh, Mello bit off another chunk of the bar, holding the candy delicately between his teeth for a moment before drawing it into his mouth, to Near's clear disapproval.

Near turned back to his dominoes with a soft huff. Well, he couldn't expect Mello to act maturely all the time, he supposed. To be sure, he was surprised Mello had remained this patient for this long--it was really rather uncharacteristic of the other to not jump at the opportunity of annoying Near every chance he got. And it was only a bar of chocolate. Sooner or later, Near reasoned, Mello would run out of candy.

Several minutes passed in which Near tried his best to ignore the persistent snap of Mello's chocolate, to no avail. The final straw fell when a particularly loud snap made him flinch and accidentally knock his hand against a domino, sending his sequence toppling. His trained reflexes kicked in and Near managed to stop the chain reaction, yet he couldn't help but bristle at Mello's mocking laugh. Sometimes, it was truly a chore to be civil. Nevertheless, when he spoke, his voice was carefully deadpan as ever.

"I would appreciate it if you'll refrain from doing that, Mello."

"Doing what?" Mello drawled, his cocky smirk only widening. Near sighed and twirled a strand of hair around his finger as he regarded the fallen segment of maze.

"You know very well what I mean. Stop playing dumb, it really doesn't suit you."

And then it was Mello's turn to stiffen, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he glared at Near's turned back. He hefted himself off of the sofa and padded over to his rival, stopping just short from stepping on the dominoes. It would be so easy to just stomp on it, to ruin hours of work with one well-placed kick, he knew, but he reined in his temper and just snapped off another chunk of chocolate.

"Oh, I see how it is," he said, forcing light-hearted nonchalance into his voice. "Near, did you want some chocolate? You had only to ask." He started picking his way carefully through the coils and columns of the maze, to where Near sat in an open clearing in the middle. With a predatory smirk, Mello settled himself next to the smaller boy. Near pointedly ignored his presence. For once, Mello didn't seem to notice.

"I could honestly care less about the chocolate," Near said flatly, not moving from his position. Nevertheless, he had to admit that he was curious. Mello was angry but was showing a considerable ability to control his annoyance, something he had never bothered to exercise before. Something was up.

Mello pretended not to have heard Near's last comment and made a show of checking his pockets. "Sorry, Near, this is my last bar. Should've brought more, hmm? I'll make sure to do that next time, but for now--"

Near did not expect the kiss. It was the first time, as far as he could remember, that he'd been so completely and utterly caught off guard. Mello wasn't at all gentle about it and he bodily shoved the younger boy to the ground, dipping down to capture Near's lips with his own, their noses bumping awkwardly before Mello tilted his face in a little more and pushed his tongue past Near's gasp, into his mouth. Mello was sweet, Near noticed with distaste, sickeningly sweet, cloyingly sweet. He attempted to push away, tried to throw the blond off of him, but Mello was heavy and triumphant and very determined to stay.

It was with a kick to the stomach that Near was finally able to fight Mello off and wriggle free. He was panting harshly--Mello had stolen his breath, the chocolate-eating thief--as he edged backwards, away from his attacker, while wiping his tainted mouth with the cuff of his sleeve. Near was only dimly aware of the dominoes he was bumping into, and although he could hear his maze falling apart, could see his work collapsing in the corner of his eye, he was far more preoccupied with the victorious sneer on Mello's face.

"Ah, sorry," Mello murmured, licking his lips lewdly. "You don't like dark chocolate? It's rather bitter, I know. I'll bring milk next time."

"Get away from me," Near growled out, shaking with suppressed anger. He could deal with Mello's usual malice, could deal with insults and punches and disdain, but this was just going too far. "Get out of here. Now."

"Oh? And who's going to make me?"

Near had never wanted to hurt someone so badly in his life. Physical violence was for thugs, he'd always thought, but now, as he looked into Mello's jade eyes and shuddered in revulsion, he wanted nothing more than to just _hurt_ him, just _punish_ him, just make him _disappear_--

"Just remember," Mello said casually as he stood up and surveyed the ruined maze, toeing at one of the fallen dominoes with a foot, "I didn't do anything, Near. You did this. You'll bring down your own towers, you'll see." He flashed his victim an innocent, beaming smile before making his way to the door, kicking dominoes out of his path, finally pausing at the exit to give a last wave to the shell-shocked teen in the room. "Or maybe you'll like white chocolate, seeing how you're so pale, ghost boy. We'll find out next time, won't we?"

And then he left, chuckling to himself as he let the door slam shut behind him. Near shakily pulled himself up to his feet, still feeling sick over what had happened, and stumbled over to the water fountain. Try as he might, though, he couldn't wash away the taste of chocolate, Mello's rotten legacy on his tongue.

...

The first thing Near did after returning to headquarters from the Yellow Box was to tell Commander Lester to buy a bar of chocolate from the local 7-eleven. He took the candy into the surveillence room, where videos of Mikami's court cases still flickered around him, casting a blue glow all over the walls and floor. Near ignored all the scenes and sank down to the ground in the center of the chamber. Suddenly, he just felt so tired.

His puppets rested heavily in his pockets and Near heaved a sigh as he withdrew each little caricature from his pajamas, arranging them in a semicircle around him. Mogi and Aizawa and Ide to one side, Lester and Giovanni and Lidner on the opposite arc. L in the very center, flanked by the two Kiras--Yagami Light and Mikami Teru. Amane Misa was placed next to her boyfriend, Kiyomi Takada by X-Kira's side. And then there was--

--Mello. Near paused when his fingers closed on the last sculpture, slowly bringing it up to eye level and opening his hand to see it sitting, still smirking, on his palm. The one casualty of the case he truly regretted. He would never have been able to make it this far without Mello.

Despite all his spite and hatred, he supposed Mello must've cared. Sometimes, though, Near wished he didn't. Maybe he would've survived that way...

Near slowly unwrapped the candy bar. It was dark chocolate, he noticed vaguely, a memory of painfully sweet kisses and falling dominoes flashing into mind. For a moment he could only stare at the candy, wondering.

Near hated sweets.

But he raised it up and bit off a generous chunk, the crack resounding even over the static of the TV screens. His fingers curled around the Mello puppet as he just held the chocolate in his mouth, letting its flavor settle thickly on his tongue. He expected overwhelming sweetness, gagging, cloying sugar, but--

--the chocolate was bitter. So bitter. Like regretful memories and loss.

...

_author's notes_ - first death note fic. :) i uhh don't really like it. what else is new.


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